


Trust

by BatmanWhoLaughss



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebellion Era - All Media Types, Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Angst, F/M, Firsts, Fluff and Angst, Post-Episode: s02e21-22 Twilight of the Apprentice, Pre-Star Wars: Rebels, Trust
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-17
Updated: 2020-11-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:53:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27604493
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BatmanWhoLaughss/pseuds/BatmanWhoLaughss
Summary: Eventually, he blinks, snapping out of his daze. “You’re– you’re letting me fly?”Hera’s smile gets bigger. “Figured it’s about time, right?”But Kanan’s still confused, and slightly concerned. “You never let me fly. Is everything okay?”“Of course,” Hera says, still smiling. But she flushes a slightly darker green, too. “I trust you, Kanan.”----The first time Hera lets Kanan fly the Ghost, pre- and post-blindness.
Relationships: Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla
Comments: 4
Kudos: 64





	Trust

Kanan walks into the cockpit, rubbing at the back of his neck and stretching. He’s still blinking the sleep from his eyes, but he remembers Hera telling him to come find her when he woke. They finally scraped together enough credits to get a full fuel tank and some new supplies, and they’re en route to their next job. Hera’s in the pilot’s chair, as always, but Kanan can see the tension in her shoulders as he takes a seat next to her. 

“Anything eventful?” He felt the jerk when they came out of hyperspace, and he can see the stars spread out in front of them. It’s almost meditative, in a way.

Hera shakes her head. “Nothing. We’ve gotta stick to flying sublight for a while until we can make the next jump.” Then she turns, giving him a soft smile. “But I could really use a break.” 

Kanan nods, standing up and grimacing when his knees crack. “I’ll go get Chopper.” The droid is in the engine room, running a diagnostic, but whenever Hera needs a break, it’s an unspoken rule that Chopper takes over. 

But she reaches out to grab his hand. It’s still so new, her touching him like this, and every time she does it sends a thrill straight through him. They’ve been flying together for a little over a year, but they’ve only been  _ together _ for a couple of months, and Kanan’s still getting used to Hera being more than just his boss. 

Now she’s giving him a soft smile, and there’s a sparkle in her eyes that arrests him so much that he almost misses the next thing she says. “Can you take the helm for a bit? I could really use some caf.”

That makes him freeze, his eyes going wide and his brows rising to the ceiling. Hera has  _ never _ let him fly the Ghost. Not once, in all the time they’ve traveled together. It’s never bothered him; Kanan knows that Hera cares more about her ship than about anything else, and she’s always been protective of it. He’s always respected her boundaries, and he knows better than to argue with her about anything pertaining to the Ghost. It’s not personal, even when she joked that his bad flying would crash the ship and he huffed indignantly at her. No one is a better pilot than Hera Syndulla, but his flying isn’t  _ that _ bad.

Eventually, he blinks, snapping out of his daze. “You’re– you’re letting me fly?”

Hera’s smile gets bigger. “Figured it’s about time, right?” 

But Kanan’s still confused, and slightly concerned. “You never let me fly. Is everything okay?” 

“Of course,” Hera says, still smiling. But she flushes a slightly darker green, too. “I trust you, Kanan.” 

And  _ there _ it is, that’s the phrase that makes his heart start beating a mile a minute. He knows she trusts him, has known for a while, but this is the first time she’s ever trusted him like  _ this _ , and it makes him feel warm all over. 

“Okay. Okay, yeah, I… I can take over for a bit. Go get your caf.” He tries to ignore how dry his throat suddenly feels as Hera stands up from the pilot’s chair. 

She rests a hand on his shoulder as she heads for the door, kissing his cheek softly. “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone,” she says, laughing. 

He manages a small smile as he nods, before the door closes behind her and he takes a seat in the pilot’s chair. 

He knows he’s being stupid. There’s not even very much for him to do, other than keep his hands on the controls so they don’t veer wildly off-course. Even so, he can’t help but feel a bit overwhelmed as he stares at the stars moving past the ship. He’s dreamt about flying the Ghost ever since he came on board, but the fact that Hera trusts him with the most important thing in her life is what’s really making his heart throb. 

Hera comes back to the cockpit five minutes later, and it feels like the longest five minutes of Kanan’s life. He’s keeping an obsessive eye on the indicators, feeling compelled to keep everything  _ exactly _ the way Hera left it even though he knows he doesn’t have to. He’s determined to try, because he’s pretty sure Hera will boot him out the airlock if he breaks even one small part of the Ghost.

He jumps slightly when Hera rests a hand on his shoulder and kisses the top of his head. “You’re veering slightly right, love,” she says, chuckling. 

“I’m what?” Kanan’s made sure not to veer a  _ centimeter _ off course, and he’s about to tell her as much, but she’s still laughing. “You’re messing with me,” he pouts. 

“Couldn’t resist,” Hera says, sipping at her mug of steaming caf and watching him with a smile on her face. “How’s she feel?” 

Kanan smiles. “I can see why you like the Ghost so much,” he says. “She’s a dream.” He’s not exaggerating. He’s been in love with this ship ever since he first came on board, and now he has one more reason to love it.

“She really is,” Hera says, spinning slowly back and forth in the co-pilot’s seat. Then she smiles at him again, with that small, trusting look that’s rapidly becoming his favorite. “I’ve already programmed the navicomputer, but you can make the jump, if you want. Then we’ve got an uninterrupted few hours to ourselves, and I could  _ really _ use a shower.” 

Now the glint in her eye is unmistakable, and Kanan feels himself blush. “10-4, Captain.”

\----------

Kanan feels better than he has in weeks. 

For the first time since he lost his sight, he feels like himself again. He feels like the crushing weight that’s been bearing down on his shoulders since he was blinded has finally begun to lift. He’s still learning, still adjusting to using the Force to see, but he feels like he’s finally starting to get a handle on how to  _ really _ be a Jedi again.

Ezra’s talking to him again, and he can tell that Hera’s a lot happier, too. He feels awful about the distance between them lately, and he’s trying to make it up to her however he can. Her presence feels lighter, happier, than it has in a while, and it makes him smile, too. 

He makes his way over to the galley, pouring a mug of caf for himself and one for Hera. Making caf was one of the first things he learned to do, when he lost his sight, because as much as he loves Hera, she can’t make decent caf to save her life.

He’s smiling when he enters the cockpit, reaching out towards where he knows she’s sitting. “Hey,” he mumbles, as she reaches for the cup. “We get a job?”

“Nothing yet,” Hera replies. “We have to rendezvous with the fleet in the Onderon system tomorrow, though.” 

He feels apprehension seeping into her tone, and his brow furrows. “What’s wrong?” he asks, reaching for her shoulder. He misses, just slightly, and tries to ignore the small stab of pain as his hand trails upwards to find its perch. 

Her hand reaches to grab his. “Do you…” She hesitates, but before he has time to start worrying she blurts out the rest all in a rush. “Do you want to fly for a bit?”

He sucks in a breath. He’s been doing a  _ lot _ better at sensing the environment around him, and he can sense some things outside the ship, but… “Hera, I don’t think‒”

Hera squeezes his hand. “I do,” she says quietly. “You’ve gotten  _ so _ much better at sensing the environment, recently. And you’ve flown the Ghost so often now that it’s just muscle memory. We’ve gotta stay at sublight for another 40 clicks and then we’re in hyperspace again.” 

Kanan swallows thickly, apprehension coiling in the pit of his stomach as she guides him towards the pilot’s seat. “You can do this,” she says, kissing his cheek. 

Kanan’s still tense, though, and he shakes his head. “I could kill us all,” he says, bitterly. As much as he knows he’s making progress, flying the ship isn’t something he’s sure he’s ready for. Suddenly he feels out of his depth again, like he’s right back where he started. 

There’s a rustle of fabric behind him, and it’s only because he knows her so well that he knows she’s shaking her head. “You won’t. You’re ready, love. I trust you.” 

It makes his heart swell, just like it always does. Hera has so much faith in him it makes him ache, and he constantly feels like he doesn’t deserve it, especially now. He sighs, as her hands reach forward to guide his over to the steering rig. 

He thinks back to the first time he flew the Ghost, back when he was still a nervous wreck around Hera and every time he did anything he was afraid of screwing something up. Now… not much has changed, really. He still lives in fear of disappointing her, all the time, but there’s something different about it now. He knows she burns for him as badly as he burns for her, and he can feel the conviction radiating from her in the co-pilot’s seat next to him that  _ yes,  _ he  _ can _ do this, and  _ yes _ you  _ are _ being an idiot, and  _ yes _ , it’s just ten minutes of flying straight before we make the next jump. 

He sighs as he heightens his senses, trying to sense the space around them and make sure there’s nothing in their path. He’s still not sure about this, but he can feel Hera next to him, and he knows she’s looking at him with that soft smile. He knows it almost as strongly as if he can see her. He knows she trusts him, and she loves him, and that convinces him that maybe he  _ can _ do this after all. Maybe things are finally starting to  _ really _ be normal again, after all this time. 

When she kisses him hard, straddling his lap in the pilot’s chair after he makes the jump to hyperspace flawlessly, he finally feels the last shreds of doubt melting away.

**Author's Note:**

> Come find me on Twitter if you want to keep in touch! :) @targaryenjedii


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